Pickling and cleaning apparatus



C. SHmZ. PICKUNG AND Summa APPARMUS.

ALlCAfON FILED SEPT. l5, i920A 1,368,357.

l meute@ M 15,1921.

2 SfS-SHEE l.

[NVE/770e,

Charles Scozzz /y y@ MZ; mrraa v C. SCHOLTZ. PICKLING AND CLEANING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT- I5, 1920. 1,368,357. Y

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

[N VIE/770,2, Charles SCJ'ZOVZZ; /J d/m1, @WMM voz I A195- Pand Feb. 15,1921.

UNiTED STATES PATNT FFHCE.

CHARLES SCHOLTZ, OF SHARON, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO SHARON STEEL HOOP CO., F SHARON, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

PICKLING AND CLEANING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 15, 192i.

Application led September 15, 1920. Serial No. 410,401.

T 0 aZZwwm it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES SoHoLTz, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Sharon, in the county of Mercer and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pickling and Cleaning Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates to improvements in continuous pickling and cleaning apparatus andairns to provide a simple, economical and eiicient form of apparatus in which the sheet metal plates will be carried through the tank or tanks in a manner which will afford a maximum contact with the treating liquid.

The invention :furtherA aims to provide a construction by which the plates may be readily fed t0 and discharged from the conveyer means.

With these and other objects in view the invention includes thevnovel features of construction and arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter described and particularly defined by the appended claims.

An embodiment-ot my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure l is a plan view of a pickling apparatus constructed in accordance with'my l invention.

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation.

Fig. 3 is a transverse section on line 3-3 of Fig. 1. 4

Fig. 4 is an enlarged plan view of a section of one of the endless conveyers, and

Fig. 5 is a side'elevation of the same.

P1`igs. 6 and 7 are enlarged sectional detai s. f

Referring by reference characters to these drawings, A, B, and C designate a series of tanks which is intended to be representative of any desired number. In the embodiment shown in the drawings A. is a pickle or cleaning tank which is made preferably somewhat longer than the succeeding tanks as shown, B a rinse tank, and C a tank containing a material to keep the metal' fromv power nature of the plates to be treated. In the drawings I have shown two conveyers designated by the letter D. Each of these con. veyers preferably comprises twosets of links o and b', the links b being'plain chain links and the linksl b being provided with rigid parallel fingers K spaced sufficiently far apart t0 provide intervening seats or recesses for receiving and holding the plates which are indicated at K. The links are connected by pivot pin b2 upon which are journaled antifriction rollers b3 which are designed to engage with the guides as hereinafter described.

At the opposite ends of the series of tanks and at points intermediate of the tanks are located a series of supporting and guiding means in the shape of sprocket wheels G, Gr?, G2l and G3 over which the conveyers pass and by which it is moved, and the conveyors or chains are so arranged or disposed with relation to the sprocket wheels that slack portions are formed which depend into the tanks as clearly shown in Fig. 2.

Within the tank are provided guides or ytracks F, F', and F2 upon which the rollers of the chain or conveyer links travel, these guides or tracks being continuous from one end of each tank to the other, and inclining or curving downwardly from each end to or near thebottom of the tank.

Beneath the tanks are longitudinal guide rails or tracks L which are designed to support and4V guide the portion of the conveyer passing underneath the tanks on its return to the feed end.

Tlfe sprocket wheels Gr, G', G2 and GS are all designed to he driven in unison by any suitable means so as to always preserve the slack, and this may` be conveniently accomplished by providing the shafts g upon which the sprocket wheels are mounted with bevel gears g meshing with corresponding lbevel gears e on a longitudinal shaft E designed to be driven by any suitable reducing transmitting means I, such as conventionally illustrated in the drawings, from the electric motor M.

At one end, the feed end, et the series o tanks is located a feed table H designed to receive a pile of the plates to be pickled, and this table' has a downwardly inclined portion provided with fingers or projecting hars iii-which are designed or positioned to overlap the fingers of the conveyers. 'Io properly position the links as they pass up by the edge of the table so that the plates supported by the table will be in perfect alinement with the slots or recesses between the fingers of the conveyers, I provide additional supporting and guiding sprockets-Gr4 which may be idle sprockets as shown, and the plates may be slid into the spaces between the fingers of the conveyers by hand or 1n any suitable manner.

At the -delivery end ofthe apparatus I' provide a collecting device in the shape of a chute J having collecting lingers or projections Which overlap the fingers of the conveyers and serve to strip or remove the plates automatically from the fingers K as the sprocket chains or conveyers pass around the final sprocket wheels G3. The chute is preferably provided with a horizontal p0rtion J which is provided withl plate retaining projections J, this arrangement being intended to be representative of any suitable collecting device. v

I prefer 'to arrange the fingers of the conveyer links so that they inclineJ backwardly with relation thereto as shown.

Having thus described my invention what I claim is* 1. In a continuous pickling apparatus a tank', an endless conveyer having a portion depending into the tank, said conveyer having a plurality ci' closely spaced rigid members having parallel walls forming pockets for holding plates on edge and means for moving said conveyer.

2. In a continuous pickling apparatus a tank having a stationary guiding means eX- tending from one edge of the tank to the opposite edge and depending into the tank between said edges, endless conveyer means having a slack portion cooperating with said guiding means, and plate engaging devices carried by said endless conveyer, said plate engaging devices being inclined to the plane oi the conveyer.

3. In a continuous pickling apparatus, an endless conveyer comprising two sets of links pivotally connected together,one set of links being plain chainglinks, and the other set being provided with spaced rigidprojections.

4. In a continuous pickling apparatus, an endless conveyer comprising two sets of links pivotally connected together, one set of links being plain chain links, and the other set being provided with spaced rigid projections, said projections being inclined to the plane of the links.

5. In a continuous pickling apparatus, a tank, a vguidevvay therein, and an endless conveyer comprising pivotally connected link members having rigid `plate holding projections, and rollers connected with the link pivots and adapted to coperate with said guideway. v

6.,In a continuous pickling apparatus a tank, endless conveyer means arranged t0 pass through the tank, said conveyer means carrying spaced rigid fingers, supporting and guiding means at the receiving end of the tank over which said conveyer means passes, and a feed table at one end having inclined spaced fingers overlapping said conveyer means. l

7. In al continuous pickling apparatus, a tank, an endless conveyer means arranged to pass through the tank, supporting means for said conveyer at the delivery end of the tank, spaced plate engaging fingers carried `by said conveyer means, and inclined stationary fingers arranged to coperate with said conveyer at the delivery end toautomatically remove the plates from said plate engaging fingers. A

8. n a continuous pickling apparatus, a plurality ofl tanks, sprocket wheels located betweenl the tanks and at the ends of the series, endless chain conveyer means passing around said sprocket wheels beneath the tanks, and having slack portions depending into the tanks, and means for driving all of said sprocket wheels in unison, closely spaced parallel ngers or projections carried by said conveyer means, and means for feeding plates edgewise between said fingers orprojections at the initial end of the apparatus.

In testimony whereofc I affix m si nature.

CHARLES S HG TZ. 

